Combining existing information with a newly collected dataset, the paper develops indicators of the
performance and the institutional characteristics of OECD judicial systems. It provides cross-country
comparisons of measures of trial length, accessibility to justice services and predictability of decisions. It
then investigates how trial length is related to some of the underlying characteristics of the systems. There
is a large cross-country variation in trial length and in appeal rates (a proxy of the predictability of
decisions), which are only partially explained by restrictions to appeal. Cross-country differences in trial
length are related to the shares of the justice budget devoted to computerisation, the systematic production
of statistics on case-flow, the active management of the progress of cases by courts, the presence of
specialised commercial courts and systems of court governance assigning greater managerial
responsibilities to the chief judge. Indicators of good public governance are associated with lower
litigation, which in turn has a significant impact on trial length. Free negotiation of lawyers’ fees, as
opposed to regulated fees, appears to be associated with lower litigation.
The Economics of Civil Justice
New Cross-country Data and Empirics
Working paper
OECD Economics Department Working Papers
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Abstract
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